We are looking for an Assistant Professor who can strengthen our position in the field of Multiscale modelling of multifunctional supramolecular materials. The development of bio-inspired supramolecular and hybrid (nano) materials is attracting much interest. Currently, there is a need for multiscale modelling techniques to (i) steer further development of hybrid and supramolecular materials towards target properties and to (ii) provide quantitative tools that will allow the full potential of these materials to be used in (bio-/medical-) engineering design. Such bottom-up hierarchical models will relate the macroscopic behaviour of supramolecular polymers to their structure at molecular and relevant mesoscopic levels.

As an Assistant Professor, you will:

• set up and develop your own research line and research group
• supervise PhD students
• acquire external funding
• promote the societal relevance of your research
• teach in and contribute to the development of the degree programmes in (Applied) Physics and/or Biomedical Engineering and/or Mechanical Engineering
• contribute to the organisation of the faculty, for example by participating in working groups and committees, in the domains of teaching, research and management.

At the stage of Assistant Professor, 60% of your time is for research, 30% for teaching activities and 10% for organisational tasks.

More information about the research institute: www.rug.nl/zernike

We encourage you to apply if you have:

• a PhD degree in Computational Physics/Materials Science or Solid Mechanics/Mechanical Engineering or a related field
• at least two years of postdoctoral experience outside of the Netherlands, preferably in a different country than where you received your PhD (can be compensated for after the appointment via extended research visits abroad)
• a relevant international network
• excellent research qualities, as shown by a publication record in international peer-reviewed journals and proceedings of renowned conferences
• a good track record in teaching, appropriate to your career stage
• demonstrable organisational competences
• cross-cultural sensitivity
• good command of spoken and written English.

And you are:

• a team player with good communication skills
• able to acquire substantial research grants from external sources
• willing to obtain a University Teaching Qualification (Dutch: BKO) within three years
• able to speak the Dutch language or motivated to speak it within five years.

Fixed-term contract: 60 months.

We offer you a full-time position as Assistant Professor in our faculty’s tenure track system Career Paths in Science and in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary, depending on qualifications and work experience, from € 3.746 up to a maximum of € 5.826 gross per month (salary scale 11 or 12, depending on your career stage) for a full-time position
• holiday allowance and year-end bonus of respectively 8% and 8.3% of your yearly salary
• a pension scheme
• maternity and parental leave
• the possibility to work part-time (0,9 FTE or 0,8 FTE)
• a mentor programme and a broad range of opportunities for personal development
• dual career support for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.

Consider our website for more information about the working conditions at the University of Groningen: https://www.rug.nl/about-us/work-with-us/that-is-why/

As an Assistant Professor, you will enter a tenure track that, if followed successfully, will lead to a Full Professorship in approximately 10 years. In case of a full-time contract, you will initially be appointed for 7 years and your performance will be assessed after 5 years. This moment may be extended with at most one year in case of a life event (e.g. prolonged illness or maternity leave). If your assessment is positive, you will get a tenured appointment as an Associate Professor. After another 4 to 7 years you will be assessed for promotion to the position of Full Professor. Please consider Career Paths in Science for a complete description of our tenure track system as well as the criteria for promotion: https://www.rug.nl/fse/organization/vacatures/vacatures/career-paths-in-science-edition-4?lang=en.

Faculty of Science and Engineering

The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has been our top priority for over four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is the largest faculty within the University. We offer first-rate education and research in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines, from classical disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy and mechanical engineering, to interdisciplinary fields such as artificial intelligence, pharmacy and nanoscience. Our community has an open and informal character with students and staff from around the world.

The position we offer will be embedded in the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials and aims to link fundamental nanoscience and engineering. The Zernike Institute’s strength lies in focused, curiosity-driven, symbiotic studies of functional materials involving researchers from physics, chemistry and biomolecular sciences. The driving force is the desire to understand how things work at the microscopic level, also known as the molecular scale. This is the realm of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this field, the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials covers the whole chain from synthesising materials, building devices, characterising materials and devices, and investigating the theoretical foundation of their properties.